As I stared up the winding rails of the Guggenheim, the memories of my five-year-old self came flooding back.
As a child, my mother was very adamant about taking me to endless amounts of museums and exhibits hoping to create a “cultured” child. I’m not sure if I could consider myself “cultured” by her/our society’s own definition, but I do think I’ve had a great amount of exposure to other cultures, especially through art.
So now, thirteen years later, the memories of myself as a child and being dragged to and fro to museums came flooding back as I walked along 5th avenue towards the Guggenheim. The complete awe of the scenery around 5th avenue has always amazed me since I was a child. Now, as I took the time walking down the avenue, I admired the scenery that seemed to stay the exact same as I remembered as a child.
Stepping into the Guggenheim brought nostalgia as I remembered myself as a small child looking up at the white winding ramp. I was amazed with how architecturally different this museum was compared to the MET or the Natural History Museum. As I view it now, the same amount of wonder and interest that flooded me as a child still encapsulated my mind.
Now, as I look at the architectural lay out and relate it to “American society” and its past and present, I can see the winding ramp almost as a path through time. As the viewer ascends the ramp, the viewer can see the progression of the art through time. The Guggenheim, in this sense, sets up the viewer to experience a predetermined tour without the viewer consciously realizing it. The lay out of the museum almost forces the visitor to go through the process of only going in two directions: up or down. You could try to be a rebel and start in the middle, but you’d still have to walk past the previous pieces of art in the same winding pattern. The Guggenheim then sets up the visitor to go through a designated path to see the pieces of art in a certain way.
In terms of the tour, I thought it was very informative. The tour wasn’t overwhelming with information, but I do wish it was more inclusive of the entire exhibit as a whole instead of just background information of the collectors. I did love how engaging our guide was by making us think past the mere background information of the specific piece of art. Of course, I did have class soon so I wasn’t able to fully appreciate the entire exhibit and truly be independent in my own thought process while looking throughout the whole museum.
The exhibition itself was very intriguing since I was able to see how the collectors’ entire lives revolved around collecting pieces of art. I questioned “why” and “what is their thought process when collecting certain pieces of art?” What must they be thinking? Is it pure aesthetic driven or personal friendships with a certain artist? As I viewed several pieces of art, these thoughts invaded my mind.
Overall, I greatly enjoyed the tour and the opportunity to remind myself of my young, naïve self.
Claire Ng
